


Hope

by Terrific_Lunacy



Series: First encounters in history [5]
Category: 18th Century CE RPF, American Revolution RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Culture Shock, Gen, Historical Inaccuracy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 16:28:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8168467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terrific_Lunacy/pseuds/Terrific_Lunacy
Summary: Neither Washington nor Hamilton are particularly impressed when congress sends them yet another French aristocrat. This one however, wins their hearts quite easily.  He did not salute. Instead he affectionately kissed the general on both cheeks before the other had any chance to deny him and somehow managed to make that act look natural.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Part 5 of the series but can be read independently.
> 
> _Italics = French_

 

“And we have another one,” Hamilton sighed, arriving at the last piece of correspondence he had to bring to Washington’s attention today. “Appointed as major general.”

Washington’s frown deepened at his announcement. The flood of inept French aristocrats who demanded a high rank and treated their revolution as a game had become a serious problem recently.

“What’s his name?”

“Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,” Hamilton recited unblinkingly.

“Dear me,” Washington said drily, scanning over the letter. “And so _young_.”

“Sir,” Hamilton protested, “He’s the same age as me.”

“Yes.” Washington didn’t elaborate. “Arrange the meeting. I’ll expect you to serve as translator, as none of these Frenchmen seem willing to learn the language of the country they proclaim so eager to defend.”

Hamilton saluted and left the study.

* * *

The meeting took place on an evening in a local inn, so the arriving aristocrat wouldn’t die of shock at seeing the state their camp was in. It was rather shabby though, and the meals were modest at best, but it was the best they had to offer right now.

When Lafayette entered he stood out like a sore thumb, but he didn’t seem to mind at all, immediately spotting Washington and breezing through the room.

He did not salute. Instead he affectionately kissed the general on both cheeks before the other had any chance to deny him and somehow managed to make that act look natural.

Hamilton saw the confused look on Washington’s face and hastily disguised his laugh as a cough.

“Lord save us from the French,” Washington groaned.

Lafayette turned to Hamilton expectantly.

“ _He is very pleased to meet you_ ,” Hamilton said.

“ _The pleasure is all mine! Oh how I longed to meet you, monsieur! You have to forgive my excitement, I’ve been dreaming of this moment for months. To finally stand before you! I see now, I am not worthy_.”

Washington sent him a helpless look and Hamilton knew it wasn’t so much the foreign language he was struggling with, but the sheer fervor behind the words.

Hamilton cleared his throat. “Well. I don’t think lack of respect is going to be a problem with this one. He’s basically planning to build you a shrine in his tent.”

Washington’s face remained stoic, but he gestured to the table beside them. “Shall we eat?”

They sat down, each on one side of the small table with Hamilton between them. Lafayette’s bright eyes were fixed on Washington, barely registering his surroundings.

 “He reminds me of you,” Washington mused. “All twitching enthusiasm and restless passion, bundled up in a body hardly adequate to contain your energy.”

Hamilton flushed embarrassed. “You are teasing me, sir. I have never been so…so…”

Lafayette noticed him looking and smiled brightly and Hamilton momentarily lost his trail of thought.

Washington turned to the young Frenchman. “Well then Marquis-“

“Gilbert,” Lafayette corrected immediately.

“-what is it you hope to achieve here?”

“I am here to learn.”

The General sent an amused glance at Hamilton. “So alike and yet completely different. I remember a certain someone listing all his assets unabashedly to make sure I understood how much _I_ could benefit from him.”

“Sir-”

Washington chuckled. “I would have you no other way, colonel. That doesn’t mean an eagerness to be molded is not refreshing.”

Lafayette was still excitedly looking between them, his English apparently not yet experienced enough to follow their conversation.

“ _What did he say_?”

Hamilton had to suppress a smile at his giddy tone. “ _He likes your enthusiasm_.”

Lafayette beamed.

“I did not think he could get any more chipper,” Washington said, slightly impressed. “What did you tell him?”

“That you prefer him to me.”

“Hamilton!”

He grinned. “I jest, your Excellency.”

“You make for a miserable translator, Hamilton.”

“Words are but a means to an end. I am making sure your sentiments get across.”

“Sometimes you may translate too much,” Washington said, then turned back to Lafayette. “Eagerness for battle aside, Marquis. Why is our cause so important to you?”

“The love for my own country,” Lafayette replied immediately, stumbling over the foreign pronunciation.

Their uncomprehending looks must have prompted him to elaborate and he continued in rapid French.

“ _France is the most beautiful country in the whole world. Full of art and culture. But she is sick on the inside, black and rotten. But here._ ” He made a broad gesture to their surroundings. _“Here is something very different. On the outside the colonies are dirty and uncivilized. But on the inside, they glow. That is why I’m here. To learn. I want to return home, able to touch France’s black heart and make it glow once more_.”

For a while Hamilton was too stunned to even notice Washington’s expectant look. Then he scrambled to translate the answer, word for word. Washington looked equally stricken after hearing it.

“So please,” Lafayette said earnestly, switching back to English. “ _Messieurs_ , I beg you, teach me.”

“You do us a great honor,” Washington said finally. “But I am not sure you will find what you’re looking for. Our situation is dire.”

Lafayette didn’t need a translation for that. “This is _exactement_ why I’m here! So we can help each other, _oui_?”

Washington stared at the young man intently and Lafayette met his eyes with surprising calm. At last the General nodded.

Hamilton hid his smile behind his glass, knowing Washington had already grown fond of the Frenchman. He couldn’t blame him, Lafayette had the sort of bubbly personality that made it hard not to get infected.

They finished their meal, Hamilton constantly translating Lafayette’s happy chatter. Washington’s spare responses didn’t seem to bother him at all and Hamilton could tell the general was relaxing under Lafayette’s easy demeanor.

When they finished Washington dismissed them and Hamilton was tasked with escorting Lafayette to his new quarters. The Frenchman hardly seemed to be able to part with Washington and only the general’s promise to dine with him again soon consoled him.

Hamilton walked with him through the dark night, Lafayette being uncharacteristically silent.

“ _Mon ami_ ,” he finally said, hesitantly. “Would it be very bad if I did build a shrine?”

His accent was still very thick, but the words suddenly came a lot more fluently.

“You understood us!” Hamilton exclaimed, stunned at the audacity of the naïve-looking Frenchman.

Lafayette gave him a mischievous smile. “I practiced on the boat, but… Understanding is better, but I am still very… _inarticulé, tu sais?”_

“I can’t believe you just pretended not to understand our conversation,” Hamilton laughed.

“Not every detail,” Lafayette confessed. “Will he be very mad? _Désolé_ , I just-…”

“My dear Marquis,” Hamilton said gravely. “You might just single-handedly return nobility back in our good graces.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Lafayette's answer why the cause is so important to him is almost exactly what he said in Assassin's Creed. I don't know if they did their research and if it's based on something he really said but I thought it suits him perfectly.
> 
> Comments are my life force :)


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